USB Dac or Sound card for laptop

[audiodelic]

would like a detailed review of the keces dac

 

[rallynut]

Congrats, bro! :clapping: Oh so you are back in the maldives?
Next time, you get something, deliver to my address, I will give you first impressions even when you are abroad. You wont have to do run in/burn in!:lol:

sure thing titus .will save me a lotta trouble.cheers

 

[rallynut]

would like a detailed review of the keces dac

will do asap.see a long wait tho :sad:.cheers

 

[kaushik]

@all,just got a call from home saying that the KECES DA151 mk2 has finally reached home :yahoo:!!a month and 10 days of waiting too might i add,all because it was stuck in the postal appraisal dept/customs for 95% of that time .nows the sucky bit,i currently work in the maldives and i need to get back home to just be able to touch it !!they say patience is a virtue,but dont really see myself as being the virtuous sort right now!ha ha!!will keep fellow members posted asap.cheers

congrats,
how much was the damage($),
keep us updated where it stands as compared to entry level CDP ,whenever you can.I am doing a DIY dac of same chip ..people are asking the expected sound quality ..i can build some idea from your review.

 

[rallynut]

congrats,
how much was the damage($),
keep us updated where it stands as compared to entry level CDP ,whenever you can.I am doing a DIY dac of same chip ..people are asking the expected sound quality ..i can build some idea from your review.

will do kaushik.asap.its based on the pcm2702 chip and has some exotic parts like silmic caps,military grade resistors,etc and the execution of the unit has caught a lot of peoples fancy esp considering the price.cost me 280$ incl shipping.the dac has been described as very warm and neutral,but having a wide soundstage.most people on head-fi who have it are quite amazed at its sonic character and love it.of course did consider the musical fidelity v-dac but somehow the tubey,lushey sound attributed to it didn get me.i have always preferred the former signature and the setup i have is quite so in that aspect.this purchase would help integrate my notebook into the rig.there was a group dac review(varying price points) by ken mecallif on 6 moons audio.do look it up.small review but sums it up.cheers

 

[iaudio]

will do kaushik.asap.its based on the pcm2702 chip and has some exotic parts like silmic caps,military grade resistors,etc and the execution of the unit has caught a lot of peoples fancy esp considering the price.cost me 280$ incl shipping.the dac has been described as very warm and neutral,but having a wide soundstage.most people on head-fi who have it are quite amazed at its sonic character and love it.of course did consider the musical fidelity v-dac but somehow the tubey,lushey sound attributed to it didn get me.i have always preferred the former signature and the setup i have is quite so in that aspect.this purchase would help integrate my notebook into the rig.there was a group dac review(varying price points) by ken mecallif on 6 moons audio.do look it up.small review but sums it up.cheers

Rallynut,
I think the price is 260$. So 280$ with shipping is great!
Btw, can you post or pm the link to the 6moons review, I cant seem to find it.

Kaushik, bring it on man! Maybe sometime we could do a comparo between your diy dac and the Keces:licklips:

 

[kaushik]

Rallynut,
I think the price is 260$. So 280$ with shipping is great!
Btw, can you post or pm the link to the 6moons review, I cant seem to find it.

Kaushik, bring it on man! Maybe sometime we could do a comparo between your diy dac and the Keces:licklips:

My dac will follow a standard design .. i have ordered a kit of the same chip to be used to have a rough idea of the capabilities..demo unit will rely on my basic mods on the kit.
there are exotic mods all over the net ...
starts with SS buffer stage at the end ,valve buffer,
oscillator mod etc.. I wish if i had the funds for keeping
stock of exotic components,magma and i are working
on the components sourcing part.

Mumbai,Delhi(assuming component hubs) members, if any one can source black gates,pana FC, R-core transformers,toroidals etc ..
some mil grade 1% resi and poly capacitors i have links...
Gold RCAs too i have managed. Cabinet is a small worry.

 

[rallynut]

@iaudio,just google keces da 151 6 moons.u should get it.damn,still dunno how to paste links .cheers
@kaushik,way to go bro.David Wei of Keces believes a lot in the pcm2702.very generous offer to other members for the build.may u have a great time doin so and even better results.cheers

 

[Rem]

@iaudio,just google keces da 151 6 moons.u should get it.damn,still dunno how to paste links .cheers
@kaushik,way to go bro.David Wei of Keces believes a lot in the pcm2702.very generous offer to other members for the build.may u have a great time doin so and even better results.cheers

Sorry to all for following up on such an old thread

@rallynut
Have you written any review of the Keces DAC I just saw the one written by golden ears aka Iaudio.


@everyone else
Has anyone tried the little dot DAC. It sells for $300 and is supposed to be the same ones which is there in Arcam CD players.

Little Dot DAC_I decoder Matched CDP_I : hi-end headphone amplifier

 

[rallynut]

@Rem,no review of any sort buddy,i would rather invite someone for a listen and make their own impressions .am afraid just not too good at puttin to pen micro dynamics and the sort .need people like mr "golden ears" for that,heh.since then i got my self another budget,portable headamp/dac,so could jot down a few things.

KECES DA 151mk2-USB only dac,taiwanese make,based on the burr brown pcm 2702 chip.very well built,attention to detail,separate toroidal for the psu.a very laid back,warm but analytical presentation,great detail extension,dead quiet(noisefloor),no colouration whatsoever dac.held in very high regard(budget dac category),google to get more details.

NUFORCE uDAC-USB,coax dac,damn tiny unit,very well built,runs of usb power(3.3V),based on the ESS sabre 9022,integrated head amp.warm but a little forward in presentation,great detail extension,dead quiet(noisefloor)does mids so damn well its amazing.prob the littlest unit to come out in the market,a revelation for the money.do google for more details.

that said,i love them both to bits,each has its own,immovable place in my set-up.hope this is of some help .cheers

 

[Rem]

Thanks Rallynut for that. I will be googling abt the other dacs you mentioned there and get back to you. Cud u share with me how much u paid for those.

And also next time ur in Blr and if you hve the Dac with u. Either you can come down to my place so that I can listen to them with my headphhones or will come down to any place in Blr with my laptop and headphones to check them out


I guess you have not heard much about the Little dot DAC tht I mentioned in my earlier post.

 

[iaudio]

Rem, the Keces that rallynut has with him doesnt have a HP out. The Nuforce does and thats what he's using as headphone dac/amp.

 

[shrjun]

NUFORCE uDAC-USB,coax dac,damn tiny unit,very well built,runs of usb power(3.3V),based on the ESS sabre 9022,integrated head amp.warm but a little forward in presentation,great detail extension,dead quiet(noisefloor)does mids so damn well its amazing.prob the littlest unit to come out in the market,a revelation for the money.do google for more details.

that said,i love them both to bits,each has its own,immovable place in my set-up.hope this is of some help .cheers

Will the nuforce udac make a significant difference in SQ in my setup(5 yr old compaq laptop + Audioengine A5 + Audioengine AS8 subwoofer)?I play apple lossless files on foobar using asio4all and listen to contemporary/classical rock and pop.

 

[audiodelic]

Yes i found audible difference when i siwtched from sound card to usb dac. The sound was more natural, musical and fatigue free. I use mp3's if you use lossless files you should hear a worthwhile improvement.

 

[rallynut]

@Rem,am quite familiar with the little dot,and others,as u will find that dac's are aplenty these days on the net.so many companies,so many different implementations and thought processes that go into their execution,burr brown,wolfson,cirrus logic,nos,etc.little dot has its legions of fans,so does keces,as does valab,others,and now the udac too.of course there are far more designs out there,guess we have to be thankful to eastern reverse engineering/ingenuity for being able to keep costs down.

my suggestion would be,analyse why u would benefit from one,get a general idea of the flavour it induces in a setup,stick to ur budget,and take the plunge.the little dot dac u mentioned was in my sights for a small while but,the keces won that battle .of course the biggest prob is that dac's are very hard to come by for purposes of audition,so its a leap of faith really,hence the more important research.

@shrjun,i think the audioengines accept analogue(rca) inputs and co-ax,yes?if so,ur good to go with the udac.and yes,they do make a difference in the rendition of music,low bitrate mp3 or flac.happy hunting.cheers

 

[Kittu]

@Rem,am quite familiar with the little dot,and others,as u will find that dac's are aplenty these days on the net.so many companies,so many different implementations and thought processes that go into their execution,burr brown,wolfson,cirrus logic,nos,etc.little dot has its legions of fans,so does keces,as does valab,others,and now the udac too.of course there are far more designs out there,guess we have to be thankful to eastern reverse engineering/ingenuity for being able to keep costs down.

my suggestion would be,analyse why u would benefit from one,get a general idea of the flavour it induces in a setup,stick to ur budget,and take the plunge.the little dot dac u mentioned was in my sights for a small while but,the keces won that battle .of course the biggest prob is that dac's are very hard to come by for purposes of audition,so its a leap of faith really,hence the more important research.

@shrjun,i think the audioengines accept analogue(rca) inputs and co-ax,yes?if so,ur good to go with the udac.and yes,they do make a difference in the rendition of music,low bitrate mp3 or flac.happy hunting.cheers

rallynut,

I am also in the same hunt looking for a DAC to take out from laptop and drive the wharfs... I am thinking these dacs have to be connected to an amp again to drive the wharf 9.5s or any dacs with enough power to drive them direct ? sorry if this been answered before :sad:


TIA
Kittu

 

[rallynut]

kittu,AFAIK,most dacs will just process and pass a (2Vrms/thereabouts for analogue) signal to a component,which needs to amplify the processed signal,hence the amp in the chain .sorry if i am not much help here,still learning with each passing day.cheers

@all,i really need to say this,not seein the likes of cranky/soundsgreat doling out the sound technical advice that they were known for,really sucks .guess we have our forum to thank for that .cheers

 

[Rem]

@Iaudio
Thanks for that update.

@Rallynut
The very reason that there are so many DACs and so many reviews in the net is whats confusing me. And there is not many places like you said where we can audition. Btw what headphones do you use.


Nuforce has come up with U-DAC V2.0 when I checked their site its supposed to have a better headphone amp and they are also offering an upgrade for the current users.


Yep Cranky & Soundsgreat would have been great very few ppl in any forums around with the kind of technical know how they had.

 

[rallynut]

@Rem,my signature says it all .yeah,too many choices i know.thats the fun bit .the udac2 is supposed to be 24/96(which i dont need),has a better headphone amp along with some correction in the forward sound signature.the original still sounds very good to me,plus the upgrade involves shipping/blah blah.man,too much of a headache.

of course if buygamingstuff(vijay,u listening?)decides to pass on that upgrade,at a reasonable price to existing customers,being a dealer and everything ,then it would need some thinking.for now,its a stellar unit,definitely a no-brainer for the money.remember YMMV,so enjoy the hunt.cheers

 

[esanthosh]

Nuforce has come up with U-DAC V2.0 when I checked their site its supposed to have a better headphone amp and they are also offering an upgrade for the current users

I already have asked Jason about it. I think what they are planning to do is to offer an upgrade board for $65. He said that they don't have the upgrades in stock now and it might take time. Likely time is around September end / October. It would be Nov / Dec by the time Vijay can get it here.

@Rallynut,

Since you bought it recently, you might have a very tempting price for upgrade from nuForce (far less than $65, $15? ).